Atlanta Braves vs. New York Mets 8-2-18 Series Preview Picks and Prediction

Pick, Prediction, & Preview:

Atlanta Braves vs New York Mets

The Mets will welcome the Braves to Citi Field as both teams from the NL East division will go head to head in a four-game series starting on Thursday. The Mets are in the fourth of the division while the Braves are in second. This will be their 5th meeting of the season. The Braves have a 3-0 season series lead over the Mets. The last time these two team played in a four-game series both teams ended up splitting the series 2-2.

Game 1-3: 7:10 PM ET

Game 4: 1:10 PM ET

Atlanta Braves's Latest Performance :

The Braves will begin their eight-game road trip against the Mets in a four-game set. The Braves only trail the NL East leader the Phillies by half a game and playing against the Mets on the road will give them the opportunity to reclaim the top spot in the division. The Braves are 29-24 when playing on the road this season. Coming into this series the Braves are 11th in pitching with a 3.89 ERA and 10th in batting with 489 runs scored this season. The Braves will be active during the trade deadline they recently acquired former All-Star Duvall to strengthen the bench as they make a push for the postseason.

Player to watch in this series: Ronald Acuna, he went 1-for-4 with a solo home run. He will play a huge part in how the Braves end the season since coming back from the DL he is starting to look more and more comfortable on the plate. He is slashing .256/.321/. 473 with 10 home runs, 25 RBI, and five steals through the first 52 games of his big league career. I expect him to play well on the road against the Mets.

Team leaders:

RBIs: Freddie Freeman (67)

Homers: Ozzie Albies (20)

Batting Average: Nick Markakis (.317)

Probable Pitchers for this series:

Game 1: Mike Foltynewicz, he gave four runs in five innings of work and took the loss Friday against the Dodgers. He will get the opportunity to bounce back against the Mets on Thursday. He is 7-7 on the year with a 3.04 ERA and 1.19 WHIP.

Game 2: Max Fried, he allowed one run on two hits over five innings in Saturday’s loss to Dodgers. He has a 3.92 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 25/13 K/BB ratio over the course of 20 2/3 innings. He will make his second start against the Mets on Friday.

Game 3: Sean Newcomb, he struck out eight batters and allowed just one hit over 8 2/3 innings in a 4-1 win over the Dodgers on Sunday. He is 10-5 with a 3.23 ERA and 110/57 K/BB ratio over 119 2/3 innings. He will take on the Mets at Citi Field in his next start on Saturday.

Game 4: Julio Teheran, he allowed three runs on four hits over five innings in Monday’s win over the Marlins. He will carry his 4.46 ERA and 1.26 WHIP to the mound against the Mets on Sunday.

New York Mets's Latest Performance :

The Mets will be back at Citi Field for a 7 game homestand beginning on Thursday. The homestand opens with a four-game series against the Braves. The Mets are now in fourth place of the NL East division with a record of 44-59. They haven’t been a good home team all season they are 21-33 when playing at home this season. At the start of the season, the Mets season looked really promising but they weren’t able to maintain their level of play as the season progressed playing against the Braves at home will be a challenging task for the Mets. One of the reasons for their downfall has been their inability to put up runs on the scoreboard they are now 28th in the Majors when it comes to batting scoring only 407 runs this season and 19th in pitching with a 4.27 ERA.

Player to watch in this series: Michael Conforto, he will make his return back on the plate after suffering a sore left thumb he is now the team leader in RBIs and homers after Cabrera departed to the Phillies. He will do all he can to keep the games competitive at home against the Braves. It has been a disappointing year for Conforto slashing only .230/.353/.401 but he’s batting .385 (10-for-26) with three homers and nine RBI in nine games since the All-Star break.

Team leaders:

RBIs: Michael Conforto (39)

Homers: Michael Conforto (14)

Batting Average: Brandon Nimmo (.252)

Probable Pitchers for this series:

Game 1: Jason Vargas, he gave up three runs over 4 1/3 innings in his return to the mound he will start for the Mets in the series opener against the Braves on Thursday. He is 2-6 on the season and has an 8.36 ERA and 1.79 WHIP.

Game 2: Jacob deGrom, he gave up three runs in seven innings and took home a loss to the Pirates on Saturday. He now has a losing 5-6 record with a 1.82 ERA and 0.98 WHIP in 21 starts. He will start on Friday.

Game 3: Zack Wheeler, he pitched six scoreless innings while striking out seven in a 1-0 win over the Pirates on Sunday. He has a 4.11 ERA with a 1.29 WHIP and is 5-6 on the year. If he’s not traded, Wheeler is on the mound again on Saturday against the Braves.

Game 4: Steven Matz, he will close things out for the Mets against the Braves in the rubber game on Sunday. He’s now 5-8 with a 3.79 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 20 starts.

How Atlanta Braves & New York Mets Matchup.

Vegas Odds, Offshore Odds, & Odds ATS:

Mets are 4-1 in their last 5 after scoring 2 runs or less in their previous game.

Braves are 2-5 in their last 7 vs. a team with a losing record.

Against The Spread Selection: Atlanta Braves

My reason for the pick :

The Braves will sweep the Mets on the road 4-0. At this point of the season, both teams have different objectives the Braves are trying to make the postseason while the Mets are starting the rebuilding process. The Mets will look like a new team when the trade deadline is over Wheeler should be on his way out it is quite disappointing for the Mets considering how well they started the year. The team felt like it is best for them to rebuild the team from scratch and start focusing on the future. For the Braves no one expected them to become this good so soon they build this team on the draft. Now they are going neck to neck with the Phillies for the top spot in the NL East division. The Braves grab this opportunity to make the playoffs because it is not often you see two young stars (Albies and Acuna) and a frontrunner for MVP (Freddie Freeman) playing on the same team.

Betting trends for Atlanta Braves:

Braves are 21-10 in their last 31 when their opponent allows 2 runs or less in their previous game.

Betting trends for New York Mets:

Mets are 9-24 in their last 33 games following a win.

Pete Brander

Hi, my name is Pete Brander, Living in Thailand, Ball is life!
I give sharp analysis on games, my style of writing is pretty straightforward simple and easy to read aim is to get clients the most wins and of course more cash.